Murderous Schemes: An Anthology of Classic Detective Stories [Hardcover]

Donald E. Westlake (Editor), J. Madison Davis (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195103211 | ISBN-13: 978-0195103212 | Publication Date: October 31, 1996

When plotting a murder (figuratively speaking), the mystery writer has at hand any number of M.O.s, including such tried and true conventions as the locked room, the unbreakable alibi, the double bluff, the mistaken identity, and many others. Indeed, one of the challenges (and great sources of pleasure) for a mystery writer is to visit a well-known plot construction--to try their hand at "the locked room" or "the caper"--perhaps to honor a writer or story they admire, perhaps to try to top them. Now, in Murderous Schemes, renowned mystery writer Donald E. Westlake and J. Madison Davis (current president of the International Association of Crime Writers) offer an illuminating look at eight such mystery conventions, illustrating each with five short stories written by some of the masters of the form. The resulting collection of forty tales spans a hundred and fifty years of crime fiction and includes virtually every style imaginable, from the hard-boiled detective story to the cozy armchair mystery. Here Westlake and Davis provide the avid mystery reader (and the budding mystery writer) with a glimpse behind the curtain, allowing them to compare for themselves how some of the great crime writers worked their magic on a particular convention. In the section "Armchair Detective," for instance, readers can compare works by Baroness Orczy ("The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railroad"), Agatha Christie ("The Sunningdale Mystery"--in which Christie makes passing reference to Baroness Orczy's story), Ellery Queen ("The Adventure of Abraham Lincoln's Clue"), Margaret Maron ("Lieutenant Harald and the Impossible Gun"), and P. D. James ("Great Aunt-Allie's Flypapers"). These tales highlight not only differences between individual writers, but also the differences between American and British detective fiction, and they illuminate the evolution of crime writing over time. And the other chapters--including "I Confess," "Hoist on their Own Petards," "Over the Edge," and "Come Into My Parlor"--are equally enlightening. But the best thing about Murderous Schemes is certainly the stories themselves. Here is a glorious treasure chest of tales that cover every crime in the book, written by a who's who of crime fiction--Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, Arthur Conan Doyle, G. K. Chesterton, Raymond Chandler, Ellery Queen, Dorothy L. Sayers, P. D. James, Chester Himes, Edward D. Hoch, and Lawrence Block, to name but a few. Bringing together a century and a half of superb crime stories, from Poe's 1844 tale of forced confession in "Thou Art the Man," to the modern mastery of Lawrence Block's story of thinly veiled evil, "Someday I'll Plant More Walnut Trees," Murderous Schemes is a glorious collection. It will inform and delight anyone who loves mystery and mayhem.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"What is this drug anyway?" Westlake asks about the timeless attraction of detective stories. This anthology answers by breaking the genre into eight types, each illustrated by four splendid examples. In subgenres such as Locked Rooms, Armchair Detectives and Brilliant Schemes Gone Wrong, Westlake showcases outstanding writers of the last 100 years. In "The Blue Geranium," Agatha Christie's Miss Marple solves a murder with only the clues of dinner conversation. Ellery Queen is represented, as is Edward D. Hoch, the leading current contributor to Queen's namesake magazine. In Hoch's "The Leopold Locked Room," police captain Leopold is found in a closed room with his murdered ex-wife. Ballistics results show that Leopold's gun fired the fatal shot, but Leopold and readers know he's not the killer. Every bit of the solution is cleverly foreshadowed. "Someday I'll Plant More Walnut Trees" initially seems to be a predictable tract on spousal abuse, but the author is Lawrence Block, who turns the reader's expectations inside out with two clever twists. Other contributors include Raymond Chandler, Shirley Jackson, Chester Himes and Roald Dahl. Westlake provides sensible analyses, even if he does sound a bit guilty for thinking too much about the pure pleasure of it all.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Editors Westlake and Davis arrange this collection around eight standard plot conventions, such as the locked room and the armchair detective, providing four stories for each by authors both old and new. They underscore differences not only between writers but also between American and British mystery fiction. Complete with short biographies.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press (October 31, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195103211
• ISBN-13: 978-0195103212
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,024,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good mix of stories, including some literary mysteries, September 13, 2000

By 

Author Bill Peschel "Writers Gone Wild" (Hershey, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murderous Schemes: An Anthology of Classic Detective Stories (Paperback)

Oxford University Press has been making a fetish out of publishing mystery anthologies over the last year, with the noirish "Hard-Boiled" deserving a place on any mystery reader's shelf, and "The Oxford Book of American Detective Stories" of somewhat more borderline quality. Now comes "Murderous Schemes," a cleverly designed book by Donald E. Westlake, a writer of mostly comic caper mysteries who is himself something of an institution.

What is ingenious about "Murderous Schemes" is that Westlake takes eight conventions of the mystery genre -- locked room, capers, armchair detectives and so on -- and picks four good stories to illustrate each, from an oldie but goodie to a hope-to-be classic. The result is an evenness of tone which the eight sections bob up and down like a steady sea wave. The book's organization also allows the reader to dive in according to his or her interests: fans of over-the-top mysteries can head directly to that section, while those who want to read all the latest stuff know exactly where to go.

What they will find in almost all cases are top-quality stories that are not solely limited to mystery writers. Alongside such standbys as Raymond Chandler, Rex Stout, Stanley Ellin and Lawrence Block are some effective choices from writers whose nefarious doings are rarely noted: Isak Dinesen, Roald Dahl, Jack London and Damon Runyon.

Weaknesses? Hardly any, although it's surprising to find Chandler's "I'll Be Waiting." It's a fine, taut tale, but the fellow's waiting also in Oxford's other two anthologies. Ellery Queen's "The Adventure of Abraham Lincoln's Clue" can also be found in "American Detective." And -- this is a personal quibble, mind you -- but I can do with a lot less of Edward D. Hoch's stories. His clue-filled stories are rarely memorable, and he seems to be praised more for his output (he's a monthly fix in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine) than for the quality of his work. Like Dr. Johnson's dog walking on its hind legs, it is not done well, but you are surprised to find it done at all.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars As Hit and Miss as Most Anthologies, May 17, 2000

By 

[e-mail] "Simon DelMonte" (Flushing, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murderous Schemes: An Anthology of Classic Detective Stories (Paperback)

When I saw this, I wondered "how could I go wrong with Westlake as an editor?" Well, I forget how much detective fiction is inferior or more about crime than crime-fighting. So we get a very mixed bag. While stories by Simon Brett and Edward Hoch and Shirley Jackson stand out, others by acclaimed writers like Rex Stout and Ellery Queen fall flat. Some tales, especially one by Jack London, are barely readable, and the choice of Sherlock Holmes story for this anthology is uninspired. Still, most of what's here is entertaining and the good stuff begs for me to find more by the better writers.